Collapsible bathtub seat



Dec. 20, 1960 J. G. PURCELL, SR?

COLLAPSIBLE BATHTUB SEAT Filed March 13, 1959 IN V EN TOR. mm 6.&2554452 nited States COLLAPSIBEEBATHTUB SEAT James G; Purcell, Sr., Box218,*Cros'svilie, Tenu." 'Filed Mar. 13,-1959-S'. Nat-759340' 1 Claim.(Cl. ISS-36.5)

This invention relates to improvements in bathroom fixtures and moreparticularly to a collapsible seat that is adapted to be mounted so thatit may be used when a person is using a bath tub or shower.

An object of this invention is to provide a collapsible seat that may bemounted in a recess in the wall of a bathroom so that the seat may bemoved into position within a tub or shower or moved to storage positionwithin the recess in the wall.

It is known that many serious accidents have been caused by peopleslipping in the tub or shower when attempting to wash their feet bystanding on one foot to complete the operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a collapsible seat thatpermits a person to sit down so that he can wash his feet, hair or otherparts of his body without the danger of bodly harm.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventionconsists of the novel details of construction, arrangement andcombination of parts more fully herenafter described, claimed andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of a typical bath tub installation,showing a collapsible seat embodying the invention installed in a recessin the wall above the bath tub;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed sectional view of the seatportion of the collapsible seat embodying the invention.

Referring more in detail to the drawing, wherein like parts aredesignated by like reference numerals, the reference numeral is used togenerally indicate a bath tub construction with which a collapsible seat11 embodying the invention is associated.

In the conventional bath tub construction 10 the bath tub 12 is mountedwithin an alcove 13 in a wall 14. Water for bathing is permitted toenter the bath tub 12 from a faucet 15 and the bath tub 12 is mounted onthe floor 16 within the alcove 13.

To mount the collapsible seat 11, a recess 17 is provided in the wall 14adjacent the bath tub 12, and a door 18 hinged at 19, is used to coverthe open face of the recess 17. The door 18 is inset within an annulardepression 20 that is located in the wall 14 in circumjacent relation tothe recess 17.

A pivot bar 21 is mounted in the recess 17 transversely thereof bymounting screw eyes 22 and a seat portion 23 has hinge portions 24 atthe rear edge thereof rolled around the bar 21, as shown in Fig. 4. Theseat portion 23 has a curved annular depending flange 25 on the frontand side edges thereof and the seat portion 23 is made of aluminum orsome other material that is rust and tarnish proof.

Hnged to each front corner of the seat portion 13 by 2365353 i ?sea ed?gazet n a pair of hinges 26, is a pair of straight tubular' legs 27relationto each other are a pair of tubular rungs 29aid the rungs 29 arerigidly Secured at their opposite ends to the inner surface sof theleg`s27. I i I A`pa'ir of curved looking-members& are; each pivotallycnnectedat'ie'eid at 31 to each of the'lgs' a pivot pin 32 mounted onthe inner surface of each of the side flanges 25 at right angles theretoengages a curved slot 33 in each of the members 30. The pins 32 move inthe slots 33 as the seat portion 23 is moved from storing position asshown in Fig. 1 to operative position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Anotch 34 is provided in each of the members 30 contiguous with the endof the slot 33 that is opposite to the ends of the members 30 pivoted at31 to the legs 27, and when the pins 32 are seated in the notches 34,the seat portion 23 is prevented from collapsing while in use.

In the use of the collapsible seat 11 embodying the invention after thecollapsible seat 11 has been installed in the recess 17 and the door 18has been hinged at 19 to close the recess 17, access is gained to thecollapsible seat 11 by opening the door 18 by means of the pull knob 35.The hinges 19 are of a Construction to permit the door 18 to be swungopen until it is in contactual relation with the face of the wall 14, asshown in Fig. 3.

Then a hand grip 36, secured to the upper rung 29, is grasped by onehand and the collapsible seat 11 is moved to operable position, as shownin Fig. 2. The pins 32 Will engage the notches 34 at the end of thetravel of the pins 32 in the slots 33 and the seat portion 23 will beretained in operative position.

When it is desired to move the collapsible seat to storing position, themembers 30 are moved to disengage the pins 32 from the notches 34 andthe seat portion 23 is moved upwardly until it is received within therecess 17. During upward movement of the seat portion 23, the legs 27will fold into position in engagement with the undersurface of the seatportion 23, as shown in dotted line position, Fig. 2, and the door 18may then be closed.

The provision of a collapsible seat 11, as previously described, will beconvenient for a person to sit on while taking a bath within the bathtub 12 and when he is seated on such a collapsible seat while washinghis body, he will be prevented from having many serious accidents thatoccur When a person is taking a bath while standing.

It is believed that from the foregoing description the Construction andmanner of use of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart and it is to be understood that changes in the minor details ofConstruction, arrangement and combinaton of parts may be resorted toprovided they fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope ofthe appended claim.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be' Secured by Letters Patent is:

A collapsible seat Construction for use in association with a bath tubpositioned within an alcove in a wall comprising a seat portion having adepending curved flange on the front and side edges thereof, said seatportion being adapted to be pivotally mounted in a recess behind thebath tub, a pivot bar mounted in the recess transversely thereof andportions of the rear edge of said seat portion are hingedly connected tosaid pivot bar, a pair of tubular legs hinged to and collapsible againstthe bottom of the seat portion, each of said legs having a rubber footmember on the lower end thereof and the upper end of each leg contactingand conforming to the contour of the depending curved flange on thefront edge of said seat portion whereby said legs are more firmlyretained in vertical relation to the bath tub, a pair of spaced parallelrungs connected to the inner surface of the legs, a hand grip connectedto one of said rungs to move the collapsible seat into and out of therecess, a door hngedly mounted in the Wall to close the recess, a curvedlocking member having a curved slot therein pvotally connected at` oneend thereof to each of said legs, a pinmounted on the inne' surface ofeach of the side anges of said seat portion at right angles thereto,said pins being mounted in the slots in said members and each of said'members having a notch therein contiguous with the ends of the slots inthe free ends of the members so that when the legs are in supportingposition the pins will be seated in the notches at the ends of the slotsto prevent the seat portion from collapsing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSFOREIGN PATENTS France Sept. 8, Great Britain Aug. 23,

